IBM makes $1bn software-defined storage bet

Big Blue squared up to storage rivals with new investment

IBM is set to invest $1bn (£648m) in software-defined storage technology over the coming years as it looks to move away from "inefficient" traditional storage.

Big Blue revealed its software-defined storage intentions while unveiling new product IBM Spectrum Storage, which it claims combats storage inefficiencies with "a layer of intelligent software".

"To accelerate the development of next-generation storage software, IBM plans to invest more than $1bn in its storage software portfolio over the next five years," Big Blue said. "With this investment, the company aims to extend its storage technology leadership. The investment will focus on research and development of new cloud storage software, object storage and open standard technologies including OpenStack."

According to IDC's most recent figures, the storage software market soared six per cent in the third quarter thanks to a boom in the "software-defined" trend. It ranked EMC as the market leader, followed closely by Big Blue.

VMware and EMC are among IBM rivals which also beat the drum for software-defined storage. At the former's recent Partner Exchange event in San Francisco, it announced the arrival of its Virtual SAN 6 storage offering, which it claimed is designed to drive mass adoption of software-defined storage.